POSITIVE OUTLOOK: The Power in Learning to BE

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and as I woke up this morning on my day off, I was thankful to be alive, to wake up in a cool room with the sunlight peeping through the windows and slightly nudging me awake. I’ve been thinking about what it really means to live in the moment, to just BE. It’s been an act for me that is easier said than done. I find myself continuously falling back into my old train of thought as I begin to submerge myself in an ocean of negativity, thinking about all the things that COULD happen. I wonder how many of us do the same on a day to day basis…think about how negatively things can go then fill our heads with a story. Your friends, your relationship, your job, always finding something to stress about. 

My partner often reminds me the sadness I sometimes face is because of a story I created in my mind. What we don’t realize is that negative thoughts will cause us to react to a situation in a negative way even if it didn’t turn out the way we thought it would. We don’t realize the power of our thoughts and how it can actually cause negative vibrations to surface. This thought process, well, it didn’t happen overnight. It was ingrained in us by parents, learned through failed relationships, and viewed amongst friends. We train ourselves to think a certain way hoping to prevent hurt when something does actually happen. But (this came to me at this very second), that’s exactly what it is. We train our minds to react a certain way, think a certain way…so certainly, we can train our minds to find peace in this very moment. We can make the act of BEING a habit. *breathe. 

This morning I woke up, made the bed and poured myself a bowl of cereal and I felt great. But as I was walking through my bedroom and into the hall thinking about how important it was for me to live at this very moment and BE, I stopped. I noticed what I had been doing. I was walking around with the bowl in my hand practically scarfing down my cereal.  I was walking. And eating. And thinking. And even though my thoughts were not negative, I suddenly became aware that I was not still. I wasn’t BEING…even in the moment as I was reminding myself to BE, I was thinking about rushing to eat, and clean, and write so that I could finally just BE. I stood there for a moment, and with the bowl still in my hand, it was quite clear that even at that moment, I was not still. I was not Being.

Brilliant! What I realized now is that when we are still and consciously being in the moment, we are not stressing over things that may or may not happen. What we are doing is finding pleasure in being alive and well in that very moment and therefore setting our vibrational tone for the next moment. The future is based off of our here and now. Our thoughts at this current moment set the vibrations for the day. So I encourage you that on this day, remember to take every moment and breathe. Remember to be happy, that the happiness you are feeling now will be experienced in the moments to follow. With that happy feeling, you are able to manifest in your life everything that is great…and it all started with your ability to just BE.

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”  ~Pablo Picasso

Yvette Lopez, the founder of The Genie Projects, has a passion for working with children and an aspiration to empower children through art. Through the Genie Projects Lopez pulls focus on the importance of community involvement in empowering children who face difficult situations.

With a Bachelors Degree in Family Psychology and a Masters Degree in HR & Organizational Behavior, Lopez brings to the program her knowledge of integrating human development into an art therapy environment. She is currently working closely with The ContempArt Collective in preparing for their next art show featuring a new young artist named Isabella.